Holmes ‘happy’ to return
AUSSIE star Valentine Holmes hasn’t given up on his great American dream, but isn’t ruling out a shock return to the NRL either in a revelation that could spark a bidding frenzy.
“Happy to go anywhere” and adamant he’s fit enough to slot straight back in, Holmes (left) says all options are on the table if he falls short in his pursuit of an NFL contract. While his focus remains on cracking the NFL with the New York Jets, the 2016 Cronulla premiership winner is confident he could hit the ground running if it didn’t work out in the US. MANLY’S title hopes have been dealt a catastrophic blow with Tom Trbojevic suffering a suspected pectoral injury in the Sea Eagles’ 36-6 NRL loss to Melbourne.
In a drama-filled Saturday evening at Lottoland, Melbourne wrapped up the minor premiership but might also be left counting the cost as Cameron Munster left the field late with a shoulder injury.
Off the back of a dominant opening half-hour and a Justin Olam hat-trick, the result bumped Melbourne’s arch-rivals into a last-round scrap for the top four.
Manly will finish the weekend in fifth, needing to beat Parramatta and have South Sydney lose to the Sydney Roosters to have any hope of a second chance in the finals.
But it was in the casualty ward where the Sea Eagles suffered the most pain, with Jack Gosiewski copping a leg injury and bench prop Morgan Boyle suffering a hand problem.
Trbojevic appeared to be hurt just before going into a regulation tackle early in the game, and left the field immediately before ending the night in a sling.
Initial concerns surrounded his left pectoral muscle, where even the most minor strain would rule him out for at least two weeks.
Anything worse would likely mean his season was over, with Brendan Elliot set to fill in at the back.
Before yesterday, Manly had won 10 of the 11 games they’d had Trbojevic this year.
Without him, their record is 4-7.
“We all know how important he is to our team,” Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans said.
“If he is going to be out, people are going to have to step up. We will be right.”
In a brutal evening at Brookvale, Jorge Taufua put on two of the biggest hits of the year in defence but Manly struggled to make any other real indent.
During a dominant opening half-hour, Melbourne enjoyed 67 per cent of possession and had more than 70 of their playthe-balls in Manly’s 20m zone.
The pressure told in points, with the Storm scoring three tries in that time, including one to Olam from a bullet-like Cameron Smith cut-out ball.